An Esthetician's Point of View

pure skin and body lounge

My mom has always been into wearing her right colors. And by right colors, I mean the colors that look best on her. She says that she instinctively knew what looked good.

Each person is a season. Winter, Spring, Summer or Autumn. Each season has a palette of colors that look best on us. A lot of people are naturally drawn to the colors that look best on them and don’t know it.

WinterSummer

AutumnSpring

Growing up my siblings and I always wore our colors. My mom taught us from day one what was best for us. Between the 5 of us, we are 2 winters, 2 autumns and a spring. I passed my knowledge about colors to my friends and most didn’t care. They thought I was crazy and that everyone should have a little black dress in their closet. My response was always…not if you don’t look good in it!

I’m a Winter. Since I’ve always known it, I’m not sure if I’m drawn to my colors because I already know what works or if it’s instinct like my mom. It doesn’t matter though. You will never see me out of my color palette. Same with my siblings. We never strayed. And now most of my nieces and nephews (all except 2 and I have 11) wear their right colors.

We aren’t crazy, I promise. Here is why. Everyone looks better when they are wearing their colors. That is simply a fact. It’s a very easy way to improve your appearance without effort. The other side of it is when you wear the wrong colors, it brings out the imperfections in your skin. The things you are trying to hide with makeup, like redness.

One of my sisters and I rarely wear makeup. If we also wore the wrong colors, we would be disasters. We are pretty much relying on the colors of our clothes to do all the work. Well, that and great skin care products!

Now, if you still insist that you must wear that little black dress…you can. Get a style that the color isn’t close to your face. Wear a sweater or scarf or whatever works with the outfit that fits in YOUR color palette. That way you get the dress but still look good!

Red is in my palette. A true red. I don’t feel comfortable in that color because it’s eye-catching and I like to blend in rather than stand out. I have noticed over the years that a lot of people who don’t look good in red, will be the ones who wear it. It’s not as eye-catching on someone who is a spring, for example. Springs can wear red, but an orange-red is what is best.

So how do you figure out what season you are? I will also post pics of each seasons color palettes on my blog and also some examples of women wearing the right vs the wrong color. Here are a couple of ways to break it down first…

Do you look better in silver or gold jewelry?

Silver- Summer and Winter

Gold- Spring and Autumn

Find different (solid) colors in your closet and hold them up to your face. Make sure you’re in good lighting. What looks best? For me as a Winter, if I hold up an orange shirt, it’s going to make me look blah and probably a little sickly. If I hold up a black shirt, all of sudden my skin looks great again. Ask a friend if you’re not sure. Shades of white are good to use too. Winters can wear pure white, whereas a spring would wear ivory. You want the colors you wear to warm you up, not make you look pale.

You can also pay attention to what people compliment you on. If you every time you wear a certain blue shirt and people say you look good, then find out what color blue that season is and go from there. I’ve said it about makeup. You want someone to compliment you on your face, not how pretty your eyeshadow is. It works with clothes too. You want someone to look at you and say how pretty you look rather than tell you that you’re wearing a pretty shirt. Not that you can’t do both, but wouldn’t you rather look good than have a pretty top?

I have not oversold these with that title! I love these sponges! I’ve often said how sensitive my skin is so that means I have to be super careful with how I care for it and especially how I exfoliate it. Scrubs don’t work with my skin. They irritate it. Washcloths, even baby washcloths don’t work either. I can use these sponges every other night and my skin has seriously never been softer.

They have different ones for the face and the body and for different skin types. Easy to take care of and easy to use. I am even finding myself recommending these to some of my clients instead of a scrub. If I can save you money but still give you amazing skin, I will!

Give Yourself a Mini Facial

Simple, effective, deep cleansing & pure. All of our Facial and Body Sponges are Eco friendly, 100% natural and made from pure edible vegetable roots.The Konjac Sponge is as soft as butter, full of yummy skin friendly goodness! It cleanses the skin like nothing you ever experienced before, leaving the face clean, glowing and silky smooth.

Facebook and Instagram are so great for small businesses because it allows us to reach a lot of people. I take advantage of this by posting my blog, quick skin care tips and most importantly, awesome deals so that YOU can save money. There are so many things to know about skin and things seem to change daily. Using social media I am able to keep everyone informed. It’s also a great place to ask questions (please don’t hesitate!). All for free!

We all want our morning routine to be quick and easy but sometimes taking shortcuts isn’t the best for our skin. So many foundations have sunscreen in them today and it seems that it would be one less step to do. Unfortunately, this is not the case. The number on the bottle (ex: SPF 15) is not quite accurate. You would have to apply about 7x the amount of foundation to actually get that number. And hopefully, no one is wearing that much makeup! Below are some tips to protecting your skin and looking your best.

SPF in your foundation is not necessary and will not provide the protection you need.

If you wear Tinted Moisturizer, you should still wear a regular moisturizer. I know this can be confusing. Why should you wear both? It goes to skin tip #1…skin care products before makeup. Tinted Moisturizer is makeup. Apply your regular moisturizer first so the color doesn’t seep into dry patches and/or blemishes. It will give you a more even finish.

Sunscreen should never be skipped. Rain or shine your skin is still exposed to UV rays.

There are so many skin care lines on the market today. I can’t keep track. Just when I think I have heard of everything, a client comes in with another one. This only adds to the confusion of picking the right products for your skin. We are lucky that we have the internet and so much information at our fingertips but who do you believe and trust?

There is not a day that goes by that I don’t learn something new about skin. I read so much about skin care, it is a bit overwhelming sometimes. I love it though. I have been studying skin for about 17 years now and I have learned a lot. Plus, the hands-on experience helps too. I can see what works and what makes sense. When I decided to write a blog, I wanted to be able to provide truth. I am honest with my clients and I am honest here on my blog.

I will always explain why something will and won’t work. I will tell you why you should be using a product because I think it is important to understand the “why.” Purchasing a bunch of products that you read in a magazine doesn’t usually work that well for most. They buy but don’t know why and don’t even know if it is right for their skin. How many products do you have sitting in your bathroom cabinet?

Now I can’t help each person individually (unless you book a consultation) but I can provide you with an honest approach to skin so that you can take the information and purchase the correct products (Skin Script and Le Mieux…hint, hint).

Every informercial and over-the-counter skin care line has the latest miracle ingredient or product that is going to do it all for you. Get rid of your wrinkles, cure your acne and forever hydrate your skin. That is not reality. Sorry. Even as much as I talk about the miracle that is grape seed oil, if you were using the wrong cleanser, the oil would not work as well or could even backfire on you.

I am often asked about different products from clients and from people on social media. They have a friend who used this great moisturizer and it did “this” and “that” for their skin and they want to know if they should buy it too thinking it will solve their problems. One product will not. It is a combination of everything you use to help your skin that will give you the skin you want.

From the cleanser to the sunscreen, it matters. The toner you use in the middle of your routine may offer wonderful benefits and may help your skin, but that toner alone will not be the answer.

Here are some tips:

Use the right products for YOUR skin (not your friends!)

Use the products consistently and correctly

Be patient. Most of the time you should see an immediate improvement (no matter how small) with a new routine but for a major difference, it will take time.

Listen to a professional (hopefully that is me!) and ignore your friends. They mean well but it can be difficult to help you if you are taking the advice of several people.

If you are my client, I am here to help. I will answer your questions and guide you. Switching up your routine or trying something new because it sounded “amazing” can mess up your skin. I’ve seen it happen. Talk to me.

As an Esthetician, my hands are in constant contact with ingredients like glycolic acid, salicylic acid, lactic acid and more. These can be very drying to the hands but after about a year of trying to fight it, I finally figured out how to treat them daily to stop the flaking. Grape Seed Oil. I recommend it for the face (at night) and I use it all over my body so why shouldn’t I use it to deeply hydrate my hands? I love it and my hands have never been softer.

So imagine my surprise when I did dishes the other night (it took about 20 minutes) and my hands got extremely dry (immediately after) and then started flaking that night. How can 20 minutes of doing dishes cause that much dryness to my hands? I appreciate that the dish soap was strong enough to clean but doing this everyday cannot be good for the skin. People out there who are doing dishes everyday, multiple times a day, can be doing some damage and causing their hands to age quicker. And don’t forget, your hands give away your age!

What can you do?

1. Keep a hand moisturizer (creme is even better) next to your sink and apply every single time.

Let’s talk about the eyes today. I’ve mentioned all of this before but this is such an important area and it seems to cause the most confusion.

FACTS:
1. The eyes have no pores. They stop at the orbital bone around the eye.

2. The skin is 7x thinner than the rest of your face.

3. Most abused/ages the quickest

4. Under-eye puffiness is mostly genetic. Salt, allergies and abuse can make it worse.

5. Dark circles can also be genetic. Lack of sleep, dehydration, aging and nose jobs can make them worse.

6. There is no miracle product.

SOLUTIONS:
1. Do not apply product past your orbital bone. There is no reason to because the product will not be able to penetrate. You will only get milia (small, whitish bumps) and greasy eyelids.

2. Do not apply moisturizer in this area (past the bone). Yes, I am repeating myself! Eye creams are great and serve their purpose but I also think that serums can do the same. I stopped wearing an eye cream about 1 1/2 years ago and I have not noticed a difference. The serums I use will do the same things and since I am applying them to the same area (stopping at the bone), why do I need another product? Now, if you want to firm up the area during the day, then an eye cream can do that for you.

Le Mieux Eye Wrinkle Corrector

3. Be gentle. Use eye makeup remover at night (Neutrogena Oil-Free Eye Makeup Remover is my favorite and the only OTC product I recommend!). It removes even waterproof mascara…which should only really be used on special occasions. Avoid pulling and tugging at your eyes. This includes when you are applying your makeup. Every little thing matters.

4. You can’t avoid allergies and genetics, I get it. Salty foods and abuse, you can. If this is a big issue for you, try eliminating these and see what happens. If this is NOT a chronic problem, try cold cucumbers (or really anything cold will work) on your eyes when you wake up, for 20 minutes.

5. Get more sleep! As far as dehydration goes, this isn’t about drinking more water (although that is always a good thing), it is more about what you do topically. Does your serum have hyaluronic acid in it? That will help with hydration. And, of course, my favorite go-to product…Grapeseed Oil.
As you age, the skin naturally starts to thin and that is why darkness gets darker. Treating this area more carefully can help.
Nose jobs causes severe bruising under the eyes and releases the formation of iron which can give a rust-colored stain under the eye.

Le Mieux Vita-C SerumLe Mieux TGF-B Serum

6. Are you exfoliating your eye area? I use my Skin Script Glycolic Cleanser about twice a week on my eye area (be super careful!) and also my new Konjac Sponge (also about twice a week). Even though you don’t have pores, exfoliating will help lessen the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles.

This client starting coming to me in November and once we got her breakouts under control (less than 2 months), we started an intense 14 week Chemical Peel Series. She still has about 3 weeks left but the results are so great that I couldn’t wait to share!

I don’t normally repost other blogs but I think this is a great way to explain why Nerium AD is not the answer for your anti-aging needs. I have yet to see a real before and after picture that has produced good results.